Page 9 - BusinessWest April 1, 2024

“Rail will be
a great boost
for economic development in downtown Palmer. It’s going to bring a lot of business in, and I think it’s going to bridge some econimic gaps between Springfield and Boston.”
a few days a week, it still makes sense for people to live in a com- munity like Palmer and commute,” he said, adding that, while some already commute from Palmer to Greater Boston, rail service will be a better, safer alternative that will enable people to work while they commute.
East-west rail is easily the biggest developing story in Palmer, but there are others, said Mannarino, listing early-stage construc- tion of a new strip mall near the Big Y off the turnpike exit, one that is expected to bring a Starbucks, Jersey Mike’s, and other major brands to the community; the new brewery (much more on that in a bit); and ongoing efforts to repurpose two closed schools, Thorndike School and Converse School, for housing — a need in this community as in most all cities and towns in the 413 and other parts of the state.
“There’s a deficiency of affordable housing in most communi- ies, and Palmer is no exception,” she said, adding that the need for senior housing is most acute, and one that could be eased by con- verting the two schools for that use.
For this, the latest installment of its Community Spotlight series, BusinessWest takes an in-depth look at Palmer and how several ini- tiatives, and especially east-west rail, are seemingly on track.
Coming to a Head
They call it ‘Old Exit 8.’
That’s the name that Rachel Rosenbloom and her husband, Michael Bedrosian, owners of Seven Railroads Brewery, gave to a New England IPA that has become one of their most popular offerings.
It comes complete with a tagline — “We don’t know what exit nunber we are anymore, and we don’t care to find out” — and Rosenbloom said the brew, and its tagline, speak to how this brew- ery operation, unlike most of the others in this region, is mostly about a town and its people. And they are among them, living just a few minutes from their taproom.
“It was designed to be a place where people, and especially those from Palmer, can come and hang out,” she said, adding that, in the few weeks it has been open, it has become just that.
Rachel Rosenbloom and her husband, Michael Bedrosian, named their brewery Seven Railroads in a nod to Palmer’s rich rail history.
Staff Photo
For Rosenbloom, who by day is head brewer at Fort Hill Brewery in Easthampton (although not for much longer as she works toward making her venture a full-time endeavor), and Bedrosian, Seven Railroads is a dream now close to three years in the making.
It took that long to find a location (a build- ing on Route 20 that was
Palmer
Continued on page 12
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